It's not quite the same thing, but I don't hold it against Alex Gordon that he couldn't hack it as a third baseman. Relievers play important roles and sometimes they just belong in the bullpen after initially being miscast as potential starters

10:20

Relievers are important. The best relievers aren't as important as the best starters, but the best relievers ARE as important as the next-best starters. I think you take the absolute cream of the crop. That means Rivera. That *might* mean Hoffman -- I haven't thought about it much -- but Hoffman is close to the line. Which means the Hall of Fame, in theory, should have very few relievers at all

10:20

But I personally would prefer a bigger Hall over a smaller one. And because I grew up in San Diego Hoffman was sort of a minor icon to me. He had an awesome presence, and so he's a big part of my own baseball story. He might belong in the Hall for Hell's Bells alone

Guesto

10:21

At what point this winter does it become increasingly possible that Justin Upton could/would settle for a one year deal?

Jeff Sullivan

10:21

This point

Eric

10:21

When do you think Trea Turner takes over at SS?

Jeff Sullivan

10:21

Early June?

Eric Weinstein

10:22

With all the talent and depth the Cubs have, would you agree that they are exactly the team that can afford to gamble on Soler's upside (The Eno Sarris camp)? Or do you think that the outfield defense concerns with Soler and Schwarber mean they should deal Soler for controllable pitching (The Dave Cameron camp)?

Jeff Sullivan

10:22

This is what the Cubs have to figure out: which team in baseball values Soler the most, right now? Is it the Cubs, or is it someone else? If it's someone else, by how much more do they value him? And does that team have something interesting it would be willing to give in return?

10:22

This is why Soler for Inciarte is such an interesting potential foundation. It doesn't mean the Cubs would be giving up on Soler. It could just be them exchanging him for something they believe in a little bit more

anon

10:23

Is injury the biggest cubs potential weakness? Do you see any others that could bring down their season?

Jeff Sullivan

10:23

Maybe they struggle defensively. But it's mostly injury.

ArunK

10:26

What do you think about Greg Bird for the Yankees? Looked pretty good in a small sample last year, but could he be the guy to step up and cover any regression (there must be some regression) from Teix or A-Rod

Jeff Sullivan

10:26

Such an extreme air-ball hitter. Feels like he's basically a younger Lucas Duda

Paul

10:27

It's a little way off but when A Rod becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame, will there be a similar backlash to him as Clemens and Bonds?

Jeff Sullivan

10:28

Oh, totally. Rodriguez was suspended an entire season. He's an extreme case. He's going to need to rely on the BBWAA position increasingly softening over time

Jordan

10:28

Would it not be wise for the Jays to go after either Davis or Votto to protect against the eventual loss of both or either EE and or Bautista?

Jeff Sullivan

10:28

Or they could just put the Davis or Votto money toward EE and/or Bautista

10:28

Pretty sure the old Jays front office actually tried to deal for Votto. I doubt the new Jays front office is going to do that

Tim Morris

10:29

Are the Dodgers pretty much what we see or could they surprise?

Jeff Sullivan

10:29

They have so much freaking starter depth it feels like they could pivot and do something big. But maybe they wait until midseason

Pretty Tony

10:30

What do you think of a rotation of Verlander, Zimmerman, Sanchez, Norris, Pelfrey? I feel like the variance is so high because you have 3 veterans with injury histories, a 22 y/o who has/had cancer, and...Mike Pelfrey.

Jeff Sullivan

10:30

I feel like it's going to end up around average. I like Verlander's bounce-back, and I like Zimmermann fine, but then there are real questions at the back end. Tigers might end up an extremely .500 baseball team

Brian

10:31

I'm not really a fan of other sports, and as the off-season drags on, I start to miss the sports endorphins running around my brain, and want more baseball so I can be happier. But if baseball was all the time, the effect when there IS baseball would probably be diminished a bit, so maybe the effect on net happiness would be a wash. With that in mind, and ignoring any impact on the length of the season or fitting in games, would you like to shorten the off-season or increase the length of the off-season?

Jeff Sullivan

10:32

I like roughly the balance we have now. As a writer, the season is long enough, and the playoffs are draining...but this time of year is terrible in a different way. Yet the writer perspective is not the average-fan perspective. I think baseball takes just long enough off to get people sufficiently jazzed for when it returns

10:32

You get a number of cold, dark months to reflect on how much you appreciate the fact that baseball is that for you every single freaking day of the summer and spring

nickh93

10:33

Thanks for the feedback. Do you think Dombrowski will make another big move in season because he finally got a chance to see the minor leaguers play more than 2 weeks. Or do you think is hands are tied because of the large payroll

Jeff Sullivan

10:33

I don't think the Red Sox have anything planned, but we'll see how Hanley Ramirez adjusts in Year 2